The Black Tower

Vidocq was in real life an interesting character and Bayard’s description makes you think he met him in another life. Also there were a lot of conspiracy theories around Louis XVI’s family (until DNA was discovered) so this story is super believable in that context.

To open Louis Bayard's latest novel is to take a step back in time, to the introduction of the world's first detective. From the cover art promising sinister goings-on to the surprising final chapter, THE BLACK TOWER cannot fail to delight thriller fans. And the old-fashioned touch of chapter titles is a pleasure in and of itself. The headings break the book into a series of wonderful little stories that all join together into a giant adventure. Each chapter is filled with history and mystery told through the words of one Dr. Hector Carpentier, a man specializing in venereal diseases. Who could be a more unlikely hero? Carpentier is not really cut out for sleuthing but has some very good advice in the opening chapter: Never let your name be found in a dead man's trousers. He teams up --- without really meaning to --- with Eugene Francois Vidocq, criminal turned cop, now a famous detective of somewhat shady character and a man with a gigantic reputation and an ego to match. Vidocq has an air about him reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes crossed with Lt. Columbo (of the old TV series). "Vidocq." "Not the scoundrel!" "Why, he's not!...He's the terror of criminals everywhere, he's - he's the reason we can sleep with our throats bare." "Oh, that's good! He's the last man in the world I'd trust with my throat." A master of disguise, Vidocq takes Carpentier on a dangerous chase around Paris and the surrounding countryside. The dead man whose trousers the good doctor's name was lodged in was Chrétien Leblanc. The name rings no bells with Carpentier, but that doesn't stop Vidocq. He pesters Carpentier with an exhaustive barrage of questions until he extracts several revelations. Despite skepticism on Vidocq's part --- likely stemming from a personal tendency to deception --- Carpentier was not trying to conceal anything; he simply did not understand the significance of facts in his possession. It is 1881, the early days of the Restoration in France. The political climate is changing, albeit slowly. Loyalties that are even perceived to lean the wrong way can land one in prison, and with only the shakiest of proof necessary. So when someone suggests that the dauphin --- Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy, son of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI --- might still be alive, it is best said in hushed tones. The king's execution and that of Marie Antoinette, for treason, seems explanation enough for exercising extraordinary caution. Could a hint that the dauphin survived be the reason Leblanc was murdered? If so, why did he have Carpentier's name in his pants pocket, and why was he seemingly headed to see the doctor? The official story goes that the dauphin was tossed into a filthy cell in the Temple, a cruel and unforgiving prison, on the fourth floor of the black tower, and that he eventually died there. But with Leblanc's death, followed by yet another, the possibility that young Louis-Charles somehow escaped starts to look plausible. Before Vidocq and Ca

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW -- nothing more than the publisher has already disclosed This is a book that grabs you from sentence one and doesn't let go until the end. Louis Bayard has accomplished something rare in historical fiction: using a first person account, he manages to put the reader in a time and place, in this case 19th century Paris, without resorting to long descriptions the narrator wouldn't bother to make. His Paris comes alive organically, with all of its characters -- from the poor living in rat-infested squalor, to the petite bourgeousie, the nobility, and criminals and royalty -- and describes the smells, the monuments, the political climate, the weather and so many other period details so as to make you feel like you are there. That he also writes beautifully and has crafted a story that unfolds exquisitely and at a perfect pace makes this a great read and one I will want to return to again and again. The narrator in question is Hector Carpentier, a doctor of sorts, who has frittered away his family's cash and whose mother has turned their home into a boarding house. He is drafted into helping solve a murder by feared police inspector Vidocq, an actual historical character, and in the process discovers that Louis-Charles (Louis the 17th), the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, believed killed as a child by revolutionaries under Napoleon, may still be alive. While the real star of the book is Restoration Paris itself, Vidocq is a close second in all his animal ferocity and uncanny brilliance. Think a French Sherlock Holmes with an edge. The supporting characters are fleshed out beautifully, both men and women, rich and poor, and I'm not describing them because their identity and characters unfold with the twists and turns in the story and are best savored without knowing too much going in. Every time I thought the story had nowhere to go, it went somewhere new, and the characters continued to develop in their complexity and nuance. At last the Vine program has provided fiction about which I can rave. This is historical fiction at its best.

This is the first book I've read by this author. WOW. I am coming back for more. It took it camping and completely forgot about enjoying the great outdoors - this book had me glued. THE BLACK TOWER has it all - history, adventure, roques, kings, mystery, murder, secrets...all in the fascinating setting of early 19th century France. I highly recommend this book if you like a good mystery set in an historical setting. The characters are well-developed, often humorous. The "detective" Vidocq (based on a real person) is unforgettable. For parents: references to prostitution, torture, extramarital sex, oblique reference to homosexual sex, some swearing, one MINIMALLY graphic sex scene. Vulgar references to bodily functions, some swearing. If it were a movie it would be rated PG-13.

This novel transcends the mystery genre and becomes literature. Beautifully written descriptions with an ear for absolutely believable dialogue fill this story, making me want to immediately read all of the author's novels! There are many, many trite novels about lost princes (Russian, French, etc) and I didn't have big expectations for this novel about a possible survival of the son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. What I found was a marvelously written story full of characters one cares about. I especially liked Vidocq, the creator of the French Surete, about whom one can find details in wikipedia. It is the year 1818, and he leads the investigation, along with a physician (the son of a physician who treated the prince many years earlier), into the possibility that a young, rather simple man, may be the lost prince. The story is full of interesting twists and turns, and will not disappoint any serious reader. I recommend this book without hesitation!

The Black Tower is a what-could-have-been murder mystery. Set in 1818, not long after Napoleon had been deposed and the French monarchy reinstated, the novel begins when a man is found murdered in the streets of Paris, carrying a calling card with Dr. Hector Carpentier's name on it. Enter Eugene Francois Vidocq, one of the most legendary and feared detectives of the early 19th century (and such an influence that Victor Hugo modeled both Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert on him; a Wikipedia search on Vidocq reveals that he is credited with introducing record-keeping, criminology, and ballistics to the field of criminal investigation). Vidocq has just established the very first plainclothes police force, said to be composed of some very dangerous ex-cons. It's into this world, where the line between the law and crime is smudged, that Dr. Hector Carpentier enters. On the surface, the dead man, Leblanc, and Carpentier have nothing in common. But the mystery soon leads Carpentier and Vidocq into a dangerous search into the secrets of the murdered royal family--and entertain the thought that Louis-Charles, the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and who was imprisoned for many long months, might still be alive. I'm always skeptical of historical fiction that's written in the first person--but surprisingly, Louis Bayard manages to make it work in this book. The Parisian underworld is sufficiently creepy, and Carpentier, plays a perfect (albeit watered-down) Dr. Watson to Vidocq's Sherlock Holmes. I just loved inspector Vidocq, for his razor-sharp wit and ability to transform into another character through disguise. He's arrogant and cocky, but very sure of his abilities as an investigator (and not afraid to strut like a peacock when someone compliments him)! There's a hefty amount of political intrigue and espionage in this novel, made even juicier by the idea that the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette might have still been alive in 1818, long after a time period which everyone wished to forget. The novel is well-written; not a word is wasted here. It's a fast-paced and utterly convincing novel.